


Terra Nova

by InfernalBlossom



Category: Trigun
Genre: Aftermath of Torture, Alien Planet, Bandits & Outlaws, Double Life, Gunslingers, Immortality, Non-human characters, Science Experiments, Terraforming, my character is basically gunner! Mark Watney, references from The Martian, space travel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-22
Updated: 2017-04-22
Packaged: 2018-10-22 12:42:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,662
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10697250
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InfernalBlossom/pseuds/InfernalBlossom
Summary: Vash thought there were few places on Gunsmoke where 'lost technology' still lived, and only one where plant life thrived. With Legato haunting him and the fall of several of the Gung-Ho Guns, he decides to take time to collect himself in Inepril City - a happy coincidence since his tag-along Insurance Girls need to meet with a new client in the city. No one expected the client to be more than the simple human she presents herself to be, nor did anyone want the war about to ensue.





	Terra Nova

It was the same as any other day. Trudging into town, throat parched and lips dry, body on the verge of collapse from dehydration. The twin suns beaming above at high noon, delivering the rays to the world below, ensuring not a drop of water would survive above ground. The faded image of two moons could be seen, the larger of the two displaying a large crater carved into its surface. It was the same as any other day. Having every gun in town pointed at you, breathing in the scent of freshly used gunpowder and burning metal. Ducking out of the range of dozens of bullets flying through the air, a faint smoke trail following each one before embedding themselves into the adjacent wall. Evading the town's entire population as he attempted to make his way out before the citizens destroyed all their property, leaving yet another city's destruction in the name of the Humanoid Typhoon. It was the same as any other day. Catching his breath as the city was left behind with his footsteps in the sand. Groaning from the twisting inside of his abdomen, wishing he'd at least grabbed a box of food for his travels. Wondering how long it'd be to the next town, and how long it'd take to get there, or if he'd reach it at all. Hoping nobody was following him in a car with their shotgun loaded and rope waiting in the backseat. Wishing the $$60,000,000,000 bounty on his head would be erased from the history books. Yearning to live a life filled with normalcy and companionship, instead of the constant loneliness that came with the supernatural powers and extended lifespan of being a Plant. Seeing the next town in the distance and preparing himself, just in case the citizens decided to do away with him.

It was the same as any other day for Vash the Stampede.

He took a deep breath and licked his lips, once again dried out by the desert. He lifted a hand to shield his eyes from the already strong double suns hovering above. His stomach growled, and he in turn growled in disappointment. He couldn't remember how long he'd been walking for. Two, perhaps three days? And yet he was still standing, still moving forward. He needed a break. Exhausted, Vash set his backpack on the ground and sat beside it. He dug in the bag and found a canteen. Opening it, he turned it over and opened his mouth. A thin stream of water flowed onto his waiting tongue, and before he knew it, his supply was gone. “Aww...” he sighed, twisting the lid back onto the canteen. He hung his head and frowned, staring at the ground. “So hungry...” The growls in his abdomen intensified, and soon he could hear it complaining to him. “I know, I know. I'm starving, too.” Vash pat his stomach and stared ahead. Something stood out near the horizon. Squinting, he was able to focus better and make out the shapes of buildings. His face immediately lit up. “I'm saved!” he exclaimed, and in a single motion, gathered his bag and exploded into a full sprint toward the buildings.

"Oh no, you don't!" The shrill command brought his sprint to a halt. Vash arched his back and groaned, knowing exactly who the voice belonged to. "Don't think I'm about to let you run off again."

"Aw, come on!" The gunman turned on heel and hunched over, refusing to meet the slate stare coming from Meryl Strife, the shorter of his two stalkers. Her partner Milly smiled and waved at the outlaw, ignoring the annoyed whimpers coming from him. He thought after going into hiding in a desolate town and ditching the red clothes he'd be scot-free, but a certain priest refused to let him live down the past he so desperately wanted to leave behind in exchange for peace. Things only escalated once he made his way back to New Oregon and reunited with the Bernadelli insurance girls, who fell back into their old habits of following him around to monitor his activities. Several battles and four dead Gung-Ho Guns later, he needed more than a breather, so Vash decided to head back to the one town that fully accepted him despite his reputation. "You guys can't cut me a break, can you?"

Milly shrugged her shoulders. "Sorry, Mr. Vash, but we've got a job to do."

"A job you make increasingly difficult by vanishing into thin air!" Meryl complained. Vash ducked when she raised her fist and waited for the punch to come, but when she just walked by him, he gave her a questioning stare. The insurance agent retaliated with a single glare intense enough to make him flinch before turning her attention back to Inepril with a sigh. "Come on. We haven't got all day. We've got to keep moving."

"Why the sudden hurry? I thought there was no time to laze around-" And then came the actual punch.

Entering Inepril City, the trio weren't all that surprised to see the people happy and thriving. It'd been nearly two years since the damage half of all their plants were completely repaired, mostly in part thanks to Vash getting them the money they needed and stopping a subsequent meltdown. It didn't take long for people's heads to perk up and away from their work when they recognized a familiar red coat flowing through their streets. “Freeze!” His squeal earned several bouts of laughter behind them, all way too young to be adults. He glanced over his shoulder and spotted a group of children all wielding the blue toy guns he remembered from the past. Some of the children had grown significantly in height and maturity. “Mr. Vash, it's you!” they said in unison. "Welcome back!" Five of the closest kids tackled him to the ground. He couldn't help but to laugh, earning a giggle from Milly and an exasperated sigh from her business partner. Townspeople began to descend on the unfolding scene, gathering closer to the gunman to greet him properly.

“Vash! You're back!”

“Long time, no see, Vash! How've you been?”

"It's been much too long, Vash. We've missed you dearly."

Word of his arrival spread like wildfire throughout the town, and by the late afternoon, he was already settled in a large room at the nicest tavern. Invites were thrown his way left and right; groups eagerly hoped he'd join them for a meal, a card game, or even a beer or two. But the children became the lucky ones when they managed to steal him for a game of Bounty Hunter that lasted until sunset. The kids pouted when Vash told them he had to get ready for dinner, but he reassured them he'd be back to play another round the next day. With the children setting him free, Vash was able to relax for a little while before heading down to the tavern's dining hall for his first home cooked meal in almost a week. “Vash, buddy!” he was greeted by the tavern's owner. “You've come just in time. Happy hour just started.” With a friendly pat to the back, Vash and the insurance agents were shown to a table and served food and drinks right away. The other tavern patrons all said hello as they passed them by, and the waitresses all flirted with the outlaw as they served the table. He was having a great time: stuffing himself full, surrounded by friendly faces, even with the nervous pout Meryl suddenly wore.

"What'sa matter?" he inquired, mouth half full of food.

Meryl drummed her fingers on the table top as she played with her fork in the other hand. "Don't talk with your mouth full. It's disgusting."

Vash shot her puppy eyes. "Oh, don't mind her," Milly explained. "We're just a little on edge because of a call we got right before we left New Oregon. We were originally sent out to track down your path of destruction once you returned, but our boss contacted us out of the blue with a new assignment." A waitress came by to refill their glasses.

“Ooh. Any details yet?”

Meryl shook her head. "That's what has me so nervous. We haven't received any details on the case. The client has refused to divulge any information over the radio or via letter. But according to the higher ups, this is one we don't want to mess up.” She fed herself a forkful of food to distract her mind. "Other than that, we don't even know exactly where in the city we'll be meeting them." A waitress approached them with a tray full of food, and before departing, blew a kiss to Vash. He gladly caught it and rubbed it against the cheek, bringing the waitress to giggle as she walked away. Meryl slapped her hand to her forehead and sighed. “I guess some things never change.” Vash shrugged his shoulders and let out an apprehensive chuckle before returning to his food.

The tavern was the busiest spot in town that night. Customers flew in and out, some picking up orders to bring home, others staying for hours to drink and have a good time. Vash had become involved in a drinking competition with one of the regulars, and nobody was surprised to see him easily winning. Meryl was too worried about finding the client to pay the gunner any mind, and as the afternoon melded into nighttime, she began to wonder if the so-called client was just a myth. As the third person to lose to Vash swapped with the next competitor, the main doorway swung open and another patron entered. “Welcome, welcome,” the owner greeted the new customer. “Will you be sitting at a table or the bar?”

“I'm actually looking for someone,” she told the man. “Unfortunately, I have no idea who.” She scratched her head and stared at the hanging chandelier. “I guess a seat at a table can do for now.” The owner nodded and scanned the room for any available seat, and saw one of the people at a corner table leaving.

“Ah, there we are.” He pointed to the empty seat. "Right next to the gentleman in red."

“Thank you.” She pat his arm and maneuvered her body through the tightening crowds until she reached the corner. “This seat available?” Everyone nodded and she slid through a thin space to get to her seat, next to the blond man in the red trench coat the tavern owner pointed to, and slid the large bag from her shoulder under her chair. Her eyes were drawn to the still full plate of rice at the center of table and reached for it. “You guys don't mind, do you?”

“Go right ahead,” Milly replied, and the woman gratefully served herself some rice.

Vash's sight returned to Meryl as he cleaned his plate. “So are you guys still planning on following me after you meet with this other client? Because personally, I'm not one for stalkers. It's enough of a pain for me to deal with the guys after me, and adding your protection to the mix will only make it worse. Not to mention it's creepy.”

“That's your own fault,” she said to him. “And we're not doing it out of enjoyment. It's our job to make sure you don't cause the destruction of anything so our company doesn't go bankrupt. We're still fighting off a lawsuit from another company thanks to your tendencies.” She fed herself a forkful of rice. “Until you can stop being a magnet for danger, we'll have to follow you around. And it'd be easier if you'd stop leaving 'don't follow me' notes.”

“Maybe you should try living how I do,” he replied sarcastically, “and learn how hard it is to go slow while dodging hundreds of bullets headed your way.” The woman in the corner quietly watched the argument bounce back and forth between the two, while their friend was too busy with her own meal to care what they were saying. It was pretty amusing to her; they almost acted like siblings, or even a couple. “I swear, sometimes you insurance girls are such a pain.”

The silent woman's jaw fell open. "Insurance girls?" She set her spoon down and gestured to Meryl. "Hold on. You wouldn't happen to work for the Bernadelli Insurance Society, would you?”

Meryl's eyes widened. “Are you the client?” The woman nodded, and Meryl breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank goodness. We were given such little info that we thought you were just a hoax.” She wiped her face and folded her hands on the tabletop. “Maybe we should discuss this in private, away from all the drunks around us.”

“I agree. Do you have a room upstairs?” Meryl nodded, and the three women quickly rose from their chairs. Milly turned to Vash and gestured for him to follow. He stood up and they headed for the stairs, paying their waitress as they walked by her.

Any sound was drowned out when they reached the second floor landing. Milly locked the door to their room when everyone filed inside to ensure no interruptions would come. Vash found a chair in the far corner of the room and sat down to give the women space to work. As the insurance agents prepared their typewriter and paperwork, the outlaw watched the woman settle down on one of the beds. He couldn't recall seeing her in his last trip through Inepril City, even with his extended stay in the town. Her appearance wasn't anything out of the ordinary - brown eyes and brown hair tied into a bun, secured back by a bandana. The only note-worthy things about the client were her attire and the excessive dirt smeared on her cheeks and forehead. She looked like she could be a plant worker, though the dirt looked different from what he'd seen the last time he was inside one. Milly offered her a damp washcloth to clean her face with, and the client appeared almost embarrassed for showing up all filthy.

"Sorry. I would've cleaned up a bit more if I knew I'd be meeting with you tonight."

"It's no trouble," Milly told her while Meryl arranged the last of whatever paperwork she thought they'd need. The insurance agents sat down on the opposite bed and folded their hands atop their laps. "I guess we should start with introductions. I'm Milly Thompson, and this is my partner Meryl Strife." She gestured her hand towards Vash. “And this is-”

“Our associate, Erick,” Meryl suddenly intervened. “He's in training to become an insurance agent.” She hoped the woman would buy it quickly; she didn't want to have an important client running off because she was in the same room as the Humanoid Typhoon. Knowing what she was trying to do, nobody questioned her, and they were all grateful when the client didn't bat an eye at it.

“Oh, okay. My name is Carmen Omega. Let me start off by apologizing for not giving you any information beforehand. I'm handling pretty sensitive material, so...you know."

Meryl nodded. "No trouble at all. Out banking clients are usually like that."

“So what are you looking for, Carmen?” Milly asked. “We have plenty of options for life insurance policies, if that's what you're interested in.”

Carmen shook her head. “I do need an insurance policy, but not for myself. It's for my business. What I do isn't what people here would consider typical." She held her hand up to pause the conversation, then hopped to the window to make sure it was closed all the way and drew the curtains. "Have you ever seen flowers or trees before?" Their eyes widened, and the silence gave her a slight understanding of their answer. "There's this one patch of earth way past the city of May that's littered with growing plant life. Now imagine the entire planet were covered in that same rich land, land people could thrive off of." Carmen knelt next to her bag and pulled the drawstring open, revealing a collection of long glass vials. The people behind her hummed in awe at the sight of live flowering plants. The tallest of the vials had a sunflower inside and was appropriately marked on the outside. They stared at the bright petals on the sunflower's head before switching their focus to Carmen, who stroked the glass casing. "I'm a botanist. I dabble in the research of plant life, such as the flowers and oak sapling you see next to me." She handed the sunflower vial to Milly, then passed one containing a geranium with a large blooming head to Vash, and the oak to Meryl. "I'm attempting to fully terraform Gunsmoke. Think about it: instead of desert wasteland, everything would be covered in grasslands and forests, and rivers would flow as far as the eye can see. Life would become so much easier for everyone. I know it sounds a little bizzare, so that's why I brought the flowers with me. I thought if you saw it, it might convince you. Your boss seemed fascinated by the idea when he visited my research facility.”

"It's beautiful," Milly commented.

“Unfortunately, the plants still can't fully adapt to the soil under the sand as it is. They're still too sensitive to the lack of nutrients. My next step is to figure out how to make it rain here so the soil can get some help. I'll be paying another visit to those nice people who live on the terraformed patch of land to dig up some soil samples. If my calculations are correct and everything goes as planned, I should be able to plant the first seeds and trees within the next year.” She reached for the bag again and pulled out a stack of papers, handing them to Meryl. “This is everything that would have to be covered under the insurance policy. I've listed everything according to acquisition date, what it's made of, importance, and monetary value. It should all check out.”

Meryl took the large stack and skimmed through the first few pages. “I see why you wanted to do this in person,” she told the botanist. “Your research alone is worth a fortune... Huh?” She squinted her eyes as she read a bolded line of text. “Black market value...?”

Carmen's smile faded. “That's another thing. Along with the research, a single plant in the facility could be worth at least millions if sold on the black market, not to mention the research itself. They could probably go for even more than what I put.”

“Uh-huh...” She laid the papers back and stared at the side of the stack, measuring the thickness with her fingertips. “Oh boy, this is gonna take a while.” Meryl sighed. “I already know our boss is fine with this, so putting your policy through shouldn't be a problem. But as we normally do, we'll have to see the facility in person to make sure everything you've listed is accounted for.”

Carmen nodded. “That won't be a problem. In fact, I can take you all tomorrow afternoon if you're not busy. Just meet me here after lunch.” She watched Milly carefully pass the cylinder to Vash. He took it and rested the bottom on his lap, and stared at the sunflower inside. While the women carried on with their conversation, his gaze remained locked on the flower, then flashed right to the geranium. Rem's favorite flower, in the same exact color she'd shown him in the hologram when he was still a child on the SEEDS ships, was sitting within reach. He had to fight back a tear thinking about how happy she would've been to see the plant in person on the very planet they were set to transform. As the memory of her smile played through his mind, he wondered how the seemingly regular woman before him could have gotten her hands on such a pristine specimen, along with the casing made of lost technology which it sat inside.

Forty-five minutes passed, mostly in silence with the occasional footsteps and shifting of papers breaking it. Carmen, Meryl and Milly went through the insurance contract page by page, and all signed where necessary. It was late when the last page was finished. “And there we are,” Milly said. “We'll ship these out, and we should have a confirmation on the policy within two weeks.”

"That's a lot quicker than I expected. Good." Carmen gathered her paper stack and returned them to the duffle bag. She came up to Vash and held her hands out for the plant specimens. Taking one last look at it, he handed her the geranium and sunflower cylinders, and watched her gently place them in the bag. A yawn escaped her lips as she pulled the drawstring to secure her possessions and lifted the bag. “Well I'd better head home now. It was nice meeting you all.” She headed to the door with a wave and left the room.

When the door clicked behind her, all remaining parties let out a simultaneous huff. "Wow," Milly said, "that was something else."

"It was amazing," Vash added. "I've never seen flowers so intact before. They were incredible."

"She's certainly got our work cut out for us. Never thought we'd be dealing with a...what'd she call herself again?"

"A botanist. A plant scientist."

"Ah." It was Milly's turn to yawn. "I think she infected us with her yawn, Meryl."

The shorter of the two women opened the door for Vash to leave. "It's late. We all need some sleep after that excitement." The outlaw followed her gesture and exited the room, uttering a good night to the women before heading into his own room for the night. Though he was tired, sleep would be difficult to claim with his racing mind.


End file.
